By Jim Stanford on September 28, 2007
By now you’ve probably heard about the climbing movie being shown tonight at the Playmill (née Pink Garter/Mainstage) Theater, King Lines, starring Chris Sharma.
But you may not have seen this provocative promo poster circulating in cyberspace, featuring a photo by Heather Erson of the model “Trixie.”
Forget about the climbing. These are the lines I’m checking out! Curvy lines. Queen Lines.
Our friends over at The Snaz will be showing a short film before Sharma takes the screen. Doors open at 7 p.m., and films start at 8. There will be plenty of swag and FREE BEER.
Tickets are $10 in advance at Cloudveil or $12 at the door.
Sharma, incidentally, is a climbing wunderkind known for his solo ascents of cliff faces over open water. One such route, called Es Pontas, off the coast of Mallorca, Spain, is featured in the film.
Click here to view a trailer of the film, and here to read Sharma’s bio on Wikipedia.
Posted under Entertainment, Sports
not everybody likes the poster.
this was posted by “feminist” on The Snaz:
Just wondering why a film about a climbing legend needs a poster objectifying women to get people in the door? Sex does sell, but not without a cost to our society. Some may say the poster is “a celebration of the female form”, I would argue the poster emphasizes sexual appeal and sexual submissiveness, it de-emphasizes the model’s athletic ability or accomplishments. The poster objectifies women and further separates females from being portrayed as equals in a male-dominated sport, a world in which so many women, who will be attending the film, are working so hard to be viewed as equal counterparts in. I personally know the woman in the photo is an outstanding athlete, but this poster dismisses her from being seen as a strong athlete, and subjugates her to the role as an object to satisfy men’s needs.
I would also like to ask, what message are we sending to young women? To the detriment of our youth’s healthy development, our media culture and advertisers are targeting young females, also the most easily influenced demographic, attempting to simplify their worth to waist size, skimpy clothing and make-up. Female objectification negatively impacts women of all ages.
From Adbuster’s July/August 2007 issue, “The American Psychological Association (APA) researchers found the increasing objectification of young girls is undermining their confidence and comfort with their own body and replacing if with feelings of shame and anxiety…This increasing sexualization is also linked with three of the most common mental and physical health problems diagnosed in girls and women:eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression”.
By feeding this media trend of female objectification we are only digressing on our mission towards female empowerment. You could have featured an image that actually had something to do with the film. Why not a photo of this beautiful model climbing? Or Chris Sharma? Or a monkey dressed like Jesus? (but i guess that would have been controversial as well)
I am going to take my $10 and give it directly to 1% for the Tetons and hopefully see the film in another venue
Look for a discussion on this issue on The Snaz tomorrow, and please join in if you’re so inclined.
great show!
I just hope the guy who was climbing the outside of the theater afterward got down OK.